‘He’s still here in our hearts’: In the shadow of grief, Southern’s Human Jukebox finds solace in the music

Inside the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, thousands of phones rise into the air as cameras lock onto Southern University’s Human Jukebox marching band. The final echoes of Usher’s “You Don’t Have to Call” drift through the crowd gathered for the 52nd annual Bayou Classic’s Battle of the Bands on Thanksgiving weekend.

Then, the band pivots.

Baritones and tubas surge first, warm and heavy, supported by French horns and trombones. With surgical precision, the opening notes of Marvin Gaye’s classic “I Want You” slice clean through the Superdome. Trumpets answer in harmony as the jumbotron magnifies every movement. This is the Human Jukebox sound — high-volume rhythm, confidence and classics that own the moment.

When the Fabulous Dancing Dolls strike their final pose and the band lands its last notes in perfect harmony, the Superdome erupts. The ending feels triumphant. But for the Human Jukebox, triumph has taken on a different meaning this season.

In February, Caleb Wilson, a trumpet player in the band, died following an alleged off-campus hazing ritual. Three people have been arrested and charged in connection with his death.

Now, every Human Jukebox performance carries both joy and grief. Memory and resolve move together in every phrase. Through it all, the Human Jukebox has continued forward, one note at a time.

For Southern director of bands Kedric Taylor, the loss shook him at his foundation.

“I felt defeated [by Wilson’s death],” Taylor said. “I felt the pressure. We’ve had previous band members to die. I started to question, like, is it my leadership? Is it something I’m doing wrong?”

Wilson would have been 21 on Nov. 1 and was set to enter his senior year this fall. He was supposed to be under the lights at the Bayou Classic in November with his fellow Jukebox members. According to his family, he always looked forward to the rivalry weekend. The band marched without him, but they never left him behind.

During Bayou Classic week, a digital billboard at the Smoothie King Center — about a mile from the Superdome — displayed a message from the Caleb Wilson Foundation, a nonprofit formed in his honor: “I’m right here with you in spirit. Play loud. Play proud. Every note. Every step. Let the music speak for me. And to God be the Glory.”

The Human Jukebox is seeking to become ESPN’s top Division I winner in the 2025 Red Lobster Band of the Year competition. Southern and Florida A&M stand as the top two Division I finalists, set to collide Friday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

At the center of the charge stands drum major Demarcus Hill.

“Being on this stage [Band of the Year] is big, even though we’ve been on big stages before,” Hill told Andscape. “We’ve been eager and hungry to show what we’ve been working towards.”

Hill, in his second year as drum major, understands the weight of the role. His rise was gradual. He once stood in formation as a cymbal player and snare drummer before earning the nod to lead. At Southern, a program known for iconic drum majors, visibility is unavoidable and expectations never soften. This season, that pressure multiplied. 

More than 160 freshmen members entered the program this fall, learning to navigate college life while meeting the unforgiving standard of one of the nation’s most recognizable bands. As the band worked through fall camp and the early football season after Wilson’s death, Hill’s role expanded beyond choreography and cadence.

“Grief is very tricky,” Hill said. “You never really stop grieving. … While we dealt with the earlier stages of it [Wilson’s death] in February and March, it’s always there. We’re still navigating it. So, while managing the focus and discipline for the band, I also became a safe space for members to show empathy because it’s something that will likely never leave our minds.”

Kel Oakley, the bass drum section leader, felt that same absence.

“It was very hard,” Oakley said. “He’s still here in our hearts, but he’s supposed to be with us now. We’re doing the best we can. We miss him a lot.”

Yet even between grief and healing, the music did not stop. By the time the Human Jukebox took the field at Center Parc Stadium in Atlanta for the 2025 MEAC/SWAC Challenge in August, the band’s emotional rebuilding was already underway.

“Music is the art of feeling, and it became very important in the healing process,” Taylor said.

Hill concurred.

“By then, we were just starting to grow into the band that we could be,” he said.

As the season advanced, so did the band’s identity and the test of leadership for Taylor. An alumnus who once marched in the program and later returned as associate director before becoming band director, Taylor was navigating loss not only as a leader but as a former member who understood the emotional fabric of the band.

“I talked to my parents, my pastor, and they just kept telling me that you can’t control God’s will,” Taylor said. “They reminded me that the devil doesn’t bother people he already has. He bothers people he’s trying to get. That was encouraging, but it still didn’t get me to the place [mentally] of where I needed to be.”

Even in uncertainty, Taylor upheld the program’s musical and disciplinary standard. And slowly, the climb began.

Southern tied for No. 6 in ESPN’s Division I preseason band rankings. By the end of September, the Human Jukebox surged to No. 2, trailing only North Carolina A&T’s Blue and Gold Marching Machine. September also included an emotional tribute to Wilson during halftime of Southern’s first home football game of the season. 

The ranking dipped to No. 4 in October, then rose again. By mid-November, Southern climbed back up and finished with the second-highest cumulative score — 927.74 — among the nation’s top five Division I HBCU bands.

Ironically, the performance that defined the season came on Nov. 15 against Texas Southern on Senior Day — just days before Southern became a finalist.

“The students were playing. … I’m jumping off chairs, screaming,” Taylor said with a laugh. “They were just laughing as I am very animated. … I told them if they play like this all the time, nothing will stop them. I was happy and with everything we’ve been through, it was my way of expressing how I felt. People always know your glory but they don’t always know your story.

“When I was in college, that was the most fun I ever had. Navigating this year and making sure our students were good mentally before picking up an instrument or opening a book for class to ensure that this band could still spread joy, happiness and hope, that moment was special.”

For Taylor’s family, the season carried even deeper meaning. His older brother, Epeval Taylor, a former baritone horn player in the Human Jukebox, watched closely.

“I can’t imagine being able to bounce back as fast as they [Human Jukebox members] did,” Epeval Taylor said. “When someone dies or when you’re going through things in life, it’s hard. … It was a hard pill for him [Kedric Taylor] to swallow. … We had many conversations. But being in the band goes beyond musicianship – it prepares you for life. … It was nothing but God that brought him [Taylor] to where he needed to be to lead this program to this current stage.”

Now, inside Isaac Greggs Band Hall on Southern’s campus, preparation for Atlanta is relentless. The Human Jukebox will face Florida A&M’s reigning Band of the Year champion Marching 100 for national bragging rights, a championship title and a monetary prize. Each program will receive $100,000 for travel, accommodation and payouts. Miles College’s Purple Marching Machine and Fayetteville State’s Marching Bronco Xpress will compete in the Division II category.

Southern will take the field without Wilson. Those closest to him know exactly how present he would have been.

“He really was kind of like the life of the party,” Hill said with a laugh. “He’d always have something to make you laugh. We used to argue, laugh all the time, but he was smart, talented and showed up in the moment.”

Southern’s mindset entering Atlanta is clear.

“FAMU is not the competition,” Oakley said. “Practice for us is way harder than the competition. It gets intense. … We’re competing against ourselves. When we stick together as one, no one can stop us.”

Epeval Taylor sees the moment as something even larger.

“Southern University is like the king of kings of the bands,” he said. “Every band prepares for Southern. We’re like the Super Bowl for bands. … The enemy tried to take [the band] away from this moment. But right now, God is getting the glory for giving Southern a chance to be named the top HBCU band in the country, one that will certainly be remembered in the honor of Wilson.”

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